The CW network is in the final stages of casting for its new reality show, The Star Next Door, which is being produced by Queen Latifah. They’re looking for “highly talented, established singers that are known in the Dallas area and already have a following in DFW.” Some other requirements:…
There’s been a bit of collective chatter lately, about how Dallas in 2007 or 2008 was the last time there was this feeling of momentum in the music and arts scenes. I can’t speak to that, but there was definitely a similar wave hitting Austin during that span of time:…
Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman’s Violitionist Session is finally up, and it includes a cover of San Antonio country singer Leon’s Payne’s oft-covered “Psycho,” which recounts a series of violent acts by the narrator, who, at the end of the song, claims his “mind just walked away.” Gaiman does a…
Justin Townes Earle Dada Saturday, May 5 Justin Townes Earle looked dapper as he took the stage alone Saturday night at Dada. Whippet-thin, with a cleft chin that would make Travolta envious, he started the evening with nods to Woody Guthrie, first with “They Killed John Henry” and then with…
Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, aka MCA, has passed away at the age of 47. More news as it comes, but Yauch had been battling cancer since 2009, after it was discovered he had a tumor in his salivary gland. Sadly, he wasn’t able to join his fellow Beasties last month,…
Have you ever wanted some of Ke$ha’s blood, but you were afraid to ask? Fortunately, now you can purchase a “blood vinyl” edition of The Flaming Lips’ Heady Fwends Record Store Day exclusive double LP. For the small sum of $2,500, you can own one of 10 copies that features…
It’s been a bad run for sax players lately, what with the Killers’ Tommy Marth committing suicide and Men At Work’s Greg Ham passing on. As you try to find solace, this amazing website has compiled various sax solos from 1978-1989 to ease you into your weekend. And yes, the…
In the great tradition of made-up holidays (oh, today is also No Pants Day), May The Fourth Be With You may be the most insular, but have you ever seen the look on a Star Wars fan’s face when someone tells them they’ve never seen any of the movies? Or…
Texas Frightmare is this weekend, and Mixmaster has all the info you need about the three-day event, which includes a prom where Anthony Michael Hall will be in attendance, and a reunion of the cast of They Live. If that’s not enough to get you excited, I’m not sure what’s…
Death Cab For Cutie, Youth LagoonThursday, May 3, at McFarlin AuditoriumDeath Cab For Cutie has been passing through Dallas for over a decade. This show promises to be different from any previous tours because the group will be joined onstage by the Magik*Magik* Orchestra, which will add rich symphonic elements…
This is DFW quintet Darstar’s first video, for “Trapdoor Spider,” off last year’s Tiny Darkness. The song’s got a great, heavy riff, and though the video uses a pretty basic band-in-a-warehouse-concept, that riff matches the random couch destruction nicely. I’d like to see more videos of bands destroying things. No…
Welcome to the inaugural Five-Minute DC9 At Night/Good Records Challenge! Here, we take some of our favorite touring artists and the occasional Dallas personality to that treasured musical playground, Good Records, for our own version of Supermarket Sweep, to see what they come up with. The challenge: $50 and five…
How Bret Michaels turned fronting a rather mindless hair metal band into a multimedia career lasting nearly four decades is one of those mysteries that may never be solved. Belting out syrupy power ballads like “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” is one thing, but becoming a reality television star, screenwriter…
Every wave of music coming out of Canada is quite the “melange.” In the most recent one, Drake’s fame is pulling up Toronto R&B artists The Weeknd and Melanie Fiona. We also have elves like Grimes and Purity Ring tinkering around with their precursors, from Skinny Puppy to Nelly Furtado…
Last year at Chaos in Tejas, Austin’s annual hardcore and punk fest, Portland’s Tragedy laid waste to DIY venue The Broken Neck in the way any good after-hours hardcore show should: I left with beer, sweat and spit on me, and Tragedy almost blew the PA. Adding to the tinnitus…
The Track Meet DJ crew is throwing yet another themed party, this one in the glittering confines of Beauty Bar, to celebrate the release of Ynfynyt Scroll’s new EP, Let Me See It. YS is the moniker of former North of the Dial columnist Rodrigo Díaz, and I’ll just let…
Since Greg Ginn settled himself and his SST catalog into Taylor, Texas, a few years ago, we’ve been seeing him a lot more around here. The former Black Flag guitarist even played Coachella this year, on the same day of Tupac’s hologram, which fits at least two decades of L.A…
Has Justin Townes Earle found solace since his excellent 2010 LP Harlem River Blues? Nope. In the legacy of troubled troubadours, he’s still just as tormented by addiction, heartache and a sense that the world is inexorably pressing down. But pain fuels his latest release, Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way…
In the span of the past month, Sarah Jaffe graced our cover, Zhora reported for My First Show duty, and we had John Dufilho, aka John Singer Sergeant, interview co-hort Salim Nourallah in the wake of his new collaborative self-titled album. With that business taken care of, this is one…
The first time I heard guy/girl duo Tennis, there was very little information to accompany the free MP3 download. Many things were left to the imagination, which was an interesting way to hear a new band in an age when the MP3 is accompanied by a band’s one-sheet. The song…
The first time I saw Screaming Females was 2009 at The Parlor in Austin, a small, narrow pizza place that sends gusts of warm pizza dough wind into the venue every time the oven is opened. Within five minutes of their set, guitarist and singer Marissa Paternoster ripped into her…
Local pop-rock quartet Spook Easy’s nine-track debut LP, produced by Eric Harvey of Spoon, is a fast listen, with all but one song clocking in at under four minutes. The title track introduces the album with bright acoustic guitars, as frontwoman Stephanie Burns emits disjointed lyrics. Her vocals get a…
